Candidates for governor to debate at Mackinac conference

Top contenders for governor to debate May 31 at Mackinac Policy Conference

Debate will occur 10 weeks before Aug. 7 primary

Detroit Regional Chamber PAC sponsoring the debate as a fundraiser

Chad Livengood/Crain's Detroit Business

Thw Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Policy Conference is May 29-June 1 at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. The chamber's political action committee is sponsoring a gubernatorial debate on May 31, the final night of the four-day gathering of the state's business, education, political and civic leaders.

The top contenders for governor in the Republican and Democratic primaries will share a stage at the Grand Hotel for a joint debate on the final night of this year's Mackinac Policy Conference.

The Detroit Regional Chamber's political action committee is sponsoring an 90-minute debate on May 31 for the top three candidates in both major parties vying to be the state's next chief executive.

The chamber plans to limit the debate to the "cream of the crop candidates" who finish in the top three of each primary field in a statewide survey the chamber has commissioned with Lansing-based polling firm Glengariff Group Inc., said Brad Williams, vice president of governmental relations for the Detroit Regional Chamber.

Former Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer has been seen as the frontrunner in the Democratic primary but has faced a mounting opposition from Ann Arbor businessman Shri Thanedar and former Detroit health department Director Abdul El-Sayed. Former Xerox executive Bill Cobbs also is actively seeking the Democratic Party nomination.

The debate will occur about 10 weeks before the Aug. 7 primary. The annual post-Memorial Day confab at the Grand Hotel is traditionally a hotbed for politicking during election years.

In 2010, the chamber held a dual debate with the two Democratic candidates running for governor — then-Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and then-House Speaker Andy Dillon — as well as the five Republicans who ran for governor that year: then-Attorney General Mike Cox; then-U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra; then-state Sen. Tom George; Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard; and businessman Rick Snyder, who went on to defeat Bernero in the general election.

Schuette has previously called for a gubernatorial debate at the Mackinac conference.

The May 31 gathering will mark the first time Schuette has participated in a forum with the other Republican candidates. Calley, Colbeck and Hines have participated in a series of town hall-style meetings that Schuette has, to date, declined to attend.

The Mackinac debate will coincide with the final night of the chamber's annual gathering of the state's top leaders in business, politics, education and philanthropy at the Grand Hotel. This year's Mackinac Policy Conference runs May 29-June 1.

The chamber's PAC is hosting the debate as a fundraiser and selling advance tickets for $200 to attend 5:30-7 p.m. event on May 31 in the Grand Hotel's theater. The ticket price will rise to $250 for on-site purchases, according to the chamber.

The Detroit Chamber PAC has not yet endorsed a candidate in either gubernatorial primary, Williams said.